Maydare Volume 6 Chapter 3: Reunion

 Sorry this came later than I was expecting, i had a lot of irl stuff going on (and also genshin 4.0 update)

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Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong…

It was the early morning after we arrived in Vabel.

I jumped out of bed at the sound of the majestic giant bell. 

This was the sound of the sacred bell of the famous Para Meia Cathedral, but for me, who slept little today, it was a painful sound that struck me to my very flesh and bones.

After that happened yesterday, Bishop Eska made Thor and I sit on our soles and listen to his tedious lecture…

I met Thor at the breakfast table, but he treated me in his usual knightly way and showed no hint of the expression he showed me last night or the feeble admissions he voiced. 

So I decided to treat him the same as I always did as well.

After breakfast, Thor and I went to the World Tree Research Institute.

This was the place where the history of the World Tree and its role in the world was studied, as well as where magic was managed within the state, and where the deployment of the “Green Curtain” was coordinated.

Many talented magicians from all over the world had visited this research institute at least once to learn about the roots of magic in this world.

That was why Thor and I, who were also magicians from the Kingdom of Ruschia, were told by Bishop Eska to visit this research institute.

According to him, if we go there, we could see something good…

“Wait, Nero!?”

“Oh, Makia.”

As soon as I entered the institute, I ran into a somewhat nostalgic figure.

Nero Pachelbel, a former member of Garnet Team 9.

I didn’t think we’d reunite so soon after the incident at magic school and how we parted. But he was definitely there, with his Frezier military jacket removed and holding several books in his arms. 

His fluffy platinum blond hair and brown contacts that hid his original eye color were all nostalgic to me.

“Wow, it’s you, Nero! It’s been a while! How have you been? Wow!”

Overwhelmed with emotion, I hugged Nero.

Nero seemed to sense this in advance and held up his books over his head as he let me hug him. It was tight hug, enough that I could hear his bones creak.

I wondered if he had grown taller during the short time we didn’t see each other. 

I felt like his physique was more manly than before. As expected of a soldier…

“Hey, Makia. I’m happy to see you again too, but…the guy behind you looks really scary right now, so can you let me go?”

“Huh? Oh.”

When I let go of Nero and nervously turned around, I saw Thor standing there with a perfectly normal, charming smile.

What did Nero see?

“That’s great, Milady. You were able to meet your schoolmate again.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

I do remember Thor being strangely conscious of Nero, Frey, and other (male) team members from magic school for a long time now…

“Oh, no, Thor. Nero is more like a dear friend, or rather, one of my delightful companions.”

“Huh? I’m not particularly worried or anything. I know about your schoolmate, Prince Nero. Yes, really. I don’t care at all that he danced with you at the ball. The fact that Milady patiently taught him how to dance is…”

“You’re going that far back!? And how do you know about that anyways!?”

Thor’s smile was something very worrying. I knew that well.

We were invited to the palace’s summer ball, so I taught Nero, who wasn’t very good at dancing, a lot of things…did Thor hear about it from Lapis?

Lapis, who was also a former Garnet Team 9 member, was Thor’s teacher who taught him the magic of the <Black Demon Lord>. 

Nero had a vaguely embarrassed look on his face, but said, “Makia, I heard you’ve been here since yesterday. Do you have time? There’s something I want to show you.”

“Huh? Sure.”

“I want you to come as well, Thor Bigreitz. I think it concerns you as well.”

“...? Very well.”

Nero took Thor and I deep into the institute. What did he want to show us?

We went out from the back door of the institute and went through a forest of tall trees.

It seemed that this was a closed area within Vabel that only a limited number of people were allowed to enter.

Certainly, looking at the clothing of the people passing through here, it seemed that many of them were dressed in white researcher-like coats, or military personnel with special armaments. There were no pilgrims here at all and only a few bishops and nuns here, all of which I had seen in large numbers on the front side.

As we walked down the paved road, I heard a strange sound that gradually grew louder.

“What’s that sound?”

Guuguu…giigii…

It was a deep sound that reverberated through the earth.

Nero glanced at me as I noted the sound. “...You’ll find out soon enough,” he said.

We immediately came out to a place that seemed like a plaza. We caught sight of a “certain thing” there and stopped in our tracks.

“That’s…”

It was bound with strong chains, and its head was hanging down.

It was the terrifying creature that once attacked Lune Ruschia Magic School–a dragon.

“Yes, this is that dragon. It attacked Lune Ruschia and was captured by Professor Ulysses and Headmaster Pan,” Nero answered matter-of-factly.

“The sound we heard earlier was the dragon’s breathing, wasn’t it? Why is it here!?”

Thor’s eyes also widened in shock as he stared at the dragon.

“It was secretly brought here while still imprisoned in Headmaster Pan’s stomach.”

“Why Vabel? Isn’t it dangerous? There are only Frezier’s military police here.”

“No,” Nero shook his head at my question.

“This is the safest place in the world. This is the Holy Land, the Vabel State.”

Nero said so clearly.

I thought about the reason and came to the answer.

“Is that because…Vabel has the ‘Green Curtain’?’

“That’s right. You’ve both seen the ‘Green Curtain’ that stretches around Vabel. It is a large impenetrable barrier that uses the magical power of the World Tree. It’s different from the magic walls we usually use. It’s almost impossible for the enemy to attack here, and conversely, if this place was breached, it would mean the defeat of us, the ‘Frezier side.’”

“...”

The world was currently divided into the “Frezier side” and the “Hermedes side.” The two sides were in a state of tension where war was about to break out between them.

Ruschia was an allied country on the “Frezier side,” but…in other words, the Holy Land was the final stronghold.

“Besides, Vabel has a lot of data from the Age of Myths. Unlike the spirit dragons, the real living dragons are ancient creatures that are said to have perished during that time. Since Vabel would know how to handle dragons, Professor Ulysses…His Highness decided to entrust it to them.”

“...I see. I understand.”

I could see why the dragon was entrusted to this place.

But it was really strange.

It was said that spirit dragons, although precious, were the embodiment of nature’s elements and imitated the dragons that existed in the Age of Myths.

Real living dragons were ancient creatures that became extinct during the Age of Myths, just like the dinosaurs on Earth. 

“Ancient creatures that are said to have already died out…where did Hermedes even bring it from? Did it live quietly somewhere? And on top of that, they used it as a weapon of war.”

That was right.

Where in this world was the dragon brought from?

As I crossed my arms and genuinely pondered the question, Nero remained silent with a slightly complicated expression on his face.

“Makia!”

I was jolted from my thoughts from another voice that came from somewhere.

I looked around to find the owner of the voice. I knew it very well.

I immediately spotted her.

Her long black hair was braided back, and she wore the robes of a Frezier army-affiliated magician. I missed her face and voice so much.

“Lapis…!”

She was Lapis Twilight, my former roommate and best friend.

And yet, after the incident at Lune Ruschia Magic School, she had to hurry back to Frezier, leaving only a letter for me, and we parted ways without seeing each other.

“Makia!”

“Lapis! Lapis~~! Uwaaaah!”

We ran up to each other and hugged.

Tears sprang to my eyes, and I hugged Lapis with all my strength and cried like a child.

“Lapis, you idiot! You just left behind a letter that made me cry and went home alone!”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I knew that I had to apologize, Makia.”

“You don’t have to apologize~~! Waah!”

“Sorry,” Lapis whispered, in order to sooth my emotionally unstable self.

“Makia, I’m sorry for making you emotional, but it might be a good idea for you to stop crying soon. Your tears might wake up the dragon and cause it to go on a rampage.”

“Ah.”

The people around the dragon were glaring at us.

So, I sniffled and kept quiet. I acted mature.

Unlike Lapis’s whispered voice, my voice shrilly echoed in our surroundings.

“Thor Bigreitz. It’s been a while.”

“It has indeed been a long time, Instructor Lapis.”

Lapis then turned to Thor and greeted him.

Thor put his hand on his chest and bowed politely towards her, just like a knight.

It still felt weird hearing Thor call Lapis “Instructor.”

“Looking at the two of you side by side, you really do look similar. You look like brother and sister.”

“It’s because we have similar hair and eye colors.”

“Mr. Thor is the reincarnation of the Black Demon King, the ancestor of the Twilights, so it’s only natural.”

The two of them even calmly analyzed in the exact same way.

As well as their sharp and cool eyes.

Thor once again looked up at the sleeping dragon.

“What are you doing here?”

“There are Twilights on the Frezier side like me who are taking care of the dragon while doing research here. Fortunately, the dragon seems to be more docile near the great tree. So now, it’s very adorable and gentle, as though its previous rampage never happened.”

Really. Were there Twilights among the magicians here who were wearing the same military uniform as Lapis? No wonder it felt like their gazes felt intense when directed at me.

The Twilight clan had a unique feeling of magic coming from them.

“Noah, come over here.”

Lapis called over the black cat spirit Noah who I knew very well…not. It was a boy who looked two or three years younger than me.

Lapis gestured to him and introduced him to us.

“This is my younger brother, Noah.”

“My name is Noah Twilight. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, Miss Makia.”

A boy with a cool beauty that was similar to Lapis…

But I tilted my head in confusion.

“Isn’t Noah the name of your spirit, Lapis? The black cat. Did you…name your spirit after your brother?”

“No. This boy is that black cat. Noah is a genuine spirit.”

“Huh??”

Her brother was a spirit?

Lapis’s brow furrowed when she saw my confusion, then she smiled. “Makia, do you know about human spirtualization?”

“No, not at all.”

“Fufu, that’s to be expected. After all, in the first place, there is only one magician in this world who can turn living humans into spirits.”

Lapis continued her explanation as her eyes got distant, like she was staring off into the distant past.

“I told you before that some members of the Twilight clan, including myself, defected to Frezier. However, many of my comrades lost their lives while fleeing from our pursuers. Noah is my younger brother, and he was still little at that time. He was already on the verge of death by the time he came under Frezier’s protection.”

“...Huh?”

“His Highness Ulysses, who was staying in Frezier at that time, saw Noah’s condition and said this.”

This child’s body is already dead. 

But his soul still remains here.

If that’s the case, he can continue to stay by your side as a “spirit.”

“I never thought Professor Ulysses could even do something like that…”

No, in this case, it might be better to call him the <White Sage>.

After all, he was the reincarnation of the Lord-class <White Sage>.

“I wished for Noah to become a spirit because I didn’t want to lose him. I’m…a foolish older sister.”

Lapis said as she stroked Noah’s head. Noah looked a little troubled.

“I’m not really dissatisfied with being spiritized, Sister,” he said calmly. Lapis’s smile was still pained.

Why did she call herself a foolish older sister?

Even if he was turned into a spirit, wasn’t it better than letting someone important to you die…?

That was what I thought in my ignorance at that time.

“Hmm? Wait a minute, I thought you were just a black cat spirit, Noah, so I petted you whenever I had the chance. You must have been so annoyed. I’m sorry. I can’t believe I did something like that to a boy your age.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Oh, I see.”

He was a very dry and cool boy.

Even when he was a black cat, he was very good at letting things pass.

“Mr. Nero, have you told Makia and Mr. Thor about that yet?”

“No, not yet…”

Lapis and Nero looked at each other and confirmed something.

“Are you going to tell us about something?”

Nero turned back to us and spoke with a serious expression on his face. “As I said earlier, I was going to tell you where this dragon came from.”

We came to a room in the institute, wondering what we were doing there.

The room was mainly used by Nero and Lapis for research on that dragon.

It reminded me a little of the glass bottle atelier used by Garnet Team 9. It was a messy room full of magic tools and books.

“We don’t have any tea for guests,” Nero said. “I think we have a new one over here,” Lapis answered, and the two of them rummaged through the shelves.

“...”

Looking at the two of them, I felt very happy that they were still working together, because I could still believe that Garnet Team 9 was still connected together.

“So, you were talking about…where the dragon came from?”

When we were finally served tea, Thor cut straight to the point.

“First, I want you to look at this,” Nero said.

While he held down the bottom of the large map on the whiteboard, he prompted our gaze to it.

I stared at that world map.

The map of the world called Maydare.

“Maydare. This world is often compared to a four-petal flower or four-leaf clover. The crest of Vabel is also called the Maydare Cross, which is modelled after the shape of this world. In all four directions, there are large and small countries with their own cultures, and they have spun out their histories.”

The great power in the north was the Hermedes Heavenly Empire.

The great power in the west was the Frezier Empire.

The great power in the south was the Kingdom of Ruschia.

The great power in the east was Kirinkoku.

With these four major powers at the center, there were other small and medium-sized nations.

“But right now, there is also an unexplored and unknown land for the people of this world. Where do you think it is?”

“Huh? Is it Kirinkoku?”

I answered fairly quickly and seriously. However, Nero refuted me just as quickly. “No.”

I was wrong…?

Nero first pointed at Kirinkoku with something that looked like a stick. Kirinkoku was the great power in the east.

“It’s true that Kirinkoku is currently closed to outsiders despite being a great power, and many people think of it as mysterious. Even though a war between Hermedes and Frezier is about to start, it’s observing quietly without showing any sign of movement. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enter the country. Some ports even carry out trade, and I’ve been there just once.”

“Huh, really!?”

“Besides, it’s not really a mysterious country just because it’s unknown to us. That nation still has tremendous influence on the eastern countries.”

“...Then, um…”

I looked at the map again. Maydare only had one large continent, and it wasn’t that big of a world when you thought about it. I’m pretty sure Earth was much bigger.

Considering that, an still-unexplored and unknown territory would be…

As I was racking my brain, Thor, who was next to me, said in a calm voice, “Could it be…the center?”

I was surprised. The reason why I hadn’t thought of that at all was because it was said to be dead land.

Yes. A place with a gaping black hole in the center of Maydare.

The Scarlet Witch once caused a large explosion there…

“Exactly. The center of Maydare–the Witch’s Pupil.”

Nero pointed to the center of the map with his long stick.

Even on the map, that place was painted over in jet black.

It was commonly called the Witch’s Pupil. It really did look like the pupil of a dark eye…

“Five hundred years ago, the Scarlet Witch caused a huge explosion there and dragged the Savior of Fraxinus into it. This is a very famous legend that everyone has learned in history class. Even now, that area still has a high density of malicious magic particles, and it isn’t a place where people could approach any longer.”

It was said that most people who went there would have their bodies be contaminated by the malicious magic particles and die immediately.

“I learned about it in class too. It’s now a land of death that no one can approach, and there are powerful magic walls put up on the borders of the countries bordering the land, and they are renewed regularly.”

In this way, the center of the world had been an inviolable domain for the past five hundred years.

No one knew what was going on there.

No one thought there was any reason to know.

“But, perhaps Hermedes has already started investigating the ‘Witch’s Pupil.’”

“Hermedes? Why would they do that?”

Thor was silent with a grim look on his face, but I didn’t quite understand why.

After making eye contact with Lapis once, Nero spoke in a cautious tone.

“We don’t know for certain, but we, the Frezier side, think…that Hermedes found that ‘dragon’ in the large hole created by the Scarlet Witch’s explosion and brought it back with them.”

“What…”

My heart skipped a beat, and panic gradually welled up within me.

“That dragon…is from the Witch’s Pupil…?”

Was this panic because I was said to be the reincarnation of the Scarlet Witch?

I didn’t remember anything, but in my past life, I created that big hole in the center of the world.

A dragon brought from there attacked our precious school.

In the past, when I still thought that I was the descendent of the world’s worst witch, I was somewhat proud of the great hole in the center of the world. I was happy that my ancestor was a great witch who could do that.

But I thought that was something far removed from myself, an extension of old fairy tales. Yet it's the reality of this world, where malicious magic particles still corrupt the land.

And on top of that, there was a dragon there…

“Are you saying that the dragon lived in hiding in the Witch’s Pupil?” Thor asked while being slightly concerned for me.

Nero crossed his arms and let out a small groan.

“We don’t know. Dragons were originally said to be extinct mythical creatures. Did the dragon that was sleeping deep in the ground come out from under the earth due to the large explosion…? Or does Hermedes have the technology to create a new dragon from a part of the dragon’s fossil…? Or, does that place have a special ‘something’?”

“...”

“At least, I believe that the ‘secrets’ of the world lie dormant in the depths of the land gouged out by the great explosion.”

“Secrets…of the world…?”

Suddenly, I recalled the creation myth of this world and its end.

The world was destroyed after the war between the ten gods and rebuilt. 

What in this world was gouged out by the big explosion caused by the Scarlet Witch?

“In the first place…what was the center of the world before the Scarlet Witch caused that explosion?” Thor suddenly asked, looking curious.

Nero nodded slightly and answered. “Before five hundred years ago, it was said to have been a giant lake covered in fog.”

“Huh? A lake?”

Lapis opened a large old book on the table. 

According to her, it was a book of records of the world left behind in Vabel.

“It is said that the lake in the center of the world was once called the ‘Great Lake of Stars.’ Even before the Scarlet Witch created the large hole, it was a gathering place of magical power where strange phenomena occurred. People would suddenly disappear as soon as they entered the lake, or if they do return, they might have a different physical constitution or speak an unknown language… According to records from that time, a boy went missing after setting out on the lake in a small boat, and twenty years later, he returned looking the same as before.”

“What, isn’t that Urashima Tarou?”*

(TN: Urashima Tarou is a Japanese folktale about a fisherman who is taken to the Dragon Palace undersea after rescuing a turtle and returns to land to find that he has been gone for 100 years)

“...?”

I thought I had made the perfect quip, but no one knew who Urashima Tarou was.

Everyone was staring at me blankly.

Ah, if only Airi was here. If only…

“D-Don’t mind me. Continue.”

“...”

Nero and Lapis looked a little perplexed about what to say from there. They looked like they wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“What’s wrong, you two?”

“Ah…well…”

Lapis was about to say something, but Nero stopped her. And then, he spoke to us.

“So…there’s something we’d like to ask of you guys. It’s very difficult to talk about, but it has to do with your past lives.”

“Our past lives?” 

“Do you mean that you want information about that area from that time?” Thor asked in return as I tilted my head.

“Huh?”

I hadn’t thought of that. …But, I see. I understand.

“...That’s right. Even Vabel doesn’t have much information on the center of the world from five hundred years ago. There are only records that say that there was a huge lake, and all the investigation teams that tried to cross it went missing…In fact, we have no idea what’s there,” Nero continued, looking like he found this a bit difficult to speak about. “But, I think that if it’s the Three Great Magicians, they might have some information about it.”

Both Thor and I were silent for a moment. We couldn’t say anything because we had no memory of that.

But, come to think of it…

“Didn’t Professor Ulysses say something about it?”

Did he, who was the reincarnation of the <White Sage> who lived five hundred years ago, remember anything about that?

Professor Ulysses had already regained all of his memories.

“Professor…His Highness Ulysses used to walk along the shores of the lake to find spirits. He said he tried to cross it several times, but in the end, he stopped because he felt an unpleasant feeling. He didn’t know why.”

“Unpleasant feeling…?”

“There seems to be a strange fluctuation of magical power in that area from the beginning. Something even the White Sage couldn’t step into. But we don’t know really know the truth. However…”

Nero raised his gaze.

“Professor Ulysses said that the Scarlet Witch and Black Demon King travelled freely on the lake at the center of the world on broomsticks and dragons.”

“...”

“There might be some hints in your memories. We have to know how we can step into the Witch’s Pupil…”

While saying that, Nero dropped his gaze, and I saw him secretly clench his fists.

“...Nero?”

His voice was dispassionate, but he seemed somewhat anxious.

“Makia,” Nero lifted his head and stared at me. My spine straightened.

He spoke to me with a very serious look in his eyes.

“I’m saying this straight out, but you’re the reincarnation of the <Scarlet Witch>. Even if you don’t remember it yet, you’re the one who created the Witch’s Pupil.”

“...Yes.”

“The fact that she caused that big explosion at that place means that she must have stepped into the center of the world. How did she get there, what happened there…if you recall those memories, please tell us as much as you can.”

“...”

“I’m sure that your memories will influence the future of the world.”

“Please wait, Prince Nero,” Thor interrupted at that moment. “It’s the same as asking Miss Makia to tell you the Scarlet Witch’s memories of her death. It’s difficult enough for her just to recall her memories, and yet…”

Thor’s voice was low, and he had a meek look on his face.

It still didn’t feel real to me, but that certainly would be the memories of the Scarlet Witch’s death…

“Yeah, I’m sorry. You’re right. Being told to do something like that must be tough for you.”

“...”

“The memories of when the Scarlet Witch caused that big explosion at that place…that means her memories just before death. I’m sure a lot of things happened before that point. We only know them as strings of words in very indifferent history textbooks…it would be cruel of us to ask you to tell us about them if you remember them.”

Nero was aware of what he said. But in those eyes, I could see a remarkably emotional will in the man who always seemed so emotionless.

“But Hermedes is on the move. We can’t let them steal the Witch’s Pupil and the things that are there. That country will do anything to win this war.”

“...Nero.”

Lapis was looking at Nero who declared that with a slightly worried, concerned gaze.

Nero was a prince who defected from Hermedes to Frezier.

If there hadn’t been the coup d’etat by the military, the throne would have been succeeded smoothly, and Nero would have one day become the emperor. I think his feelings, resentment, and sense of responsibility for that country were surely greater than anyone else’s.

Lapis, sitting next to Nero, was also a victim of Hermedes’s irrational violence. At the same time, she was also a member of the Twilight clan, who were now said to be the villains of the world.

Nero and Lapis understood each other’s circumstances very well.

They were researching the “Witch’s Pupil” and the dragon together like this, as if to tell Hermedes that they couldn’t just do whatever they wanted.

Everyone had complicated positions and circumstances and grappled with their significant troubles.

Neither Thor nor I were special.

That was why I stood up.

“Nero, there’s no need to worry about me. We came to Vabel precisely for that purpose.”

I walked over to Nero, got down on my knees, and took his hand. His head was hanging down.

“If we recall the memories of our past lives, I’m sure that we’ll be able to understand lots of things. Even so, the me right now isn’t the Scarlet Witch, but Makia O’Drielle. You also told me that, didn’t you? Makia is Makia, you said.”

“...Makia.”

“The Scarlet Witch…I’m just looking into the life of someone else. I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I whispered with the hope that I was right.

I had no intention to be swallowed up by the memories and emotions of the Scarlet Witch.

“If there’s anything I remember or understand, I’ll let you know. I want to be of help to you in your battle too,” I declared with a smile to Lapis and Nero, even as Thor looked worried next to me.

But at that time, I really didn’t know a single thing about what was hiding in the Scarlet Witch’s memories.

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